What's His Problem FFS???
Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 12:52 pmI know it's The Sun and i shouldn't get wound up over it but it's starting to really piss me off, not a single bit of credit from Antony Kastrinakis - What a cock straight from the off:
MARK HUGHES is right when he says people want him and his Arab paymasters to fail.
But the Manchester City boss should look at himself in the mirror and ask some really hard questions.
His own behaviour in the Joleon Lescott saga explains why City have so far failed to capture the nation's imagination.
If City had built NOT bought a side they could easily have become the country's favourite second team.
Everybody loves an underdog. City are many things these days but underdogs they are not.
Despite Emmanuel Adebayor's quickfire opener, City won a game they could easily have lost more thanks to chance than Hughes' design. His team were caught flat-footed too often at the back by route-one football. They got away with it thanks to classy Shay Given and Rovers' wayward finishing.
Benni McCarthy and Jason Roberts had a string of chances, particularly in the first half.
Sparky will get the sack unless the Arab plaything gets a Champions League berth. Obscene spending brings excessive pressure.
Robinho, Adebayor, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Craig Bellamy running at break-neck speed on the break are an awesome sight and City should already be considered among the title contenders.
The big question is can Hughes make them gel and keep everybody happy in a dressing room full of prima donnas? The way he greeted Robinho almost apologetically when the Brazilian was subbed suggests the Welshman knows that Blackburn stopped Robinho and City by not allowing them the space to explode into action. The fighting spirit of Keith Andrews and debutant Steven Nzonzi gave the run of the midfield to Blackburn. Sam Allardyce's side dominated the first half after Adebayor's early opener. Yet the visitors should have taken the game by the scruff of the neck after that boost from the off.
It wasn't just the timing of Adebayor's third-minute strike, it was the lightning speed and lethal precision in the Togo star's combination with Wright-Phillips that should have put the fear into Blackburn.
But Hughes' men never really gathered momentum as Rovers were too cute at the back.
So instead of landing the knock-out punch, City traded blows and went the full 12 rounds before winning this fight by a split-decision. Rovers fans must be thinking after this performance that they will be safe by February. Allardyce's cohesive unit stick to what they know best, graft and guile. On another day they would have had the points.
Stephen Ireland praised City's travelling supporters for driving the team on.
There is a sharp contrast between contempt for those in charge at Eastlands and sympathy for their magnificent, gut-wrenching support. Their passion spills on to the pitch. A couple of them let their enthusiasm get the better of them when Ireland - their home-grown idol - scored the clinching goal in injury time and got on to the pitch before being bundled away by over-eager stewards.
Certainly the way Bellamy ran his opponent ragged and ran himself into the ground before giving way to Carlos Tevez midway through the second half is testament to the commitment of Hughes' players to the cause.
Blues fans taunted 'Fergie sign him' at the sight of Argentina star Tevez in a City shirt and the neutrals could not help but smile.
Sadly though, despite the result, Hughes' post-game comments about Lescott left a sour taste. The England defender may well sign for City after all.
Yet those in charge at Eastlands must get their heads round the fact that some things cannot be bought.
Like the hearts and minds of a country that must surely hope the Arsenals, Villas and Evertons of this world, who spend within their means, get one over Sparky and his owners.
MARK HUGHES is right when he says people want him and his Arab paymasters to fail.
But the Manchester City boss should look at himself in the mirror and ask some really hard questions.
His own behaviour in the Joleon Lescott saga explains why City have so far failed to capture the nation's imagination.
If City had built NOT bought a side they could easily have become the country's favourite second team.
Everybody loves an underdog. City are many things these days but underdogs they are not.
Despite Emmanuel Adebayor's quickfire opener, City won a game they could easily have lost more thanks to chance than Hughes' design. His team were caught flat-footed too often at the back by route-one football. They got away with it thanks to classy Shay Given and Rovers' wayward finishing.
Benni McCarthy and Jason Roberts had a string of chances, particularly in the first half.
Sparky will get the sack unless the Arab plaything gets a Champions League berth. Obscene spending brings excessive pressure.
Robinho, Adebayor, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Craig Bellamy running at break-neck speed on the break are an awesome sight and City should already be considered among the title contenders.
The big question is can Hughes make them gel and keep everybody happy in a dressing room full of prima donnas? The way he greeted Robinho almost apologetically when the Brazilian was subbed suggests the Welshman knows that Blackburn stopped Robinho and City by not allowing them the space to explode into action. The fighting spirit of Keith Andrews and debutant Steven Nzonzi gave the run of the midfield to Blackburn. Sam Allardyce's side dominated the first half after Adebayor's early opener. Yet the visitors should have taken the game by the scruff of the neck after that boost from the off.
It wasn't just the timing of Adebayor's third-minute strike, it was the lightning speed and lethal precision in the Togo star's combination with Wright-Phillips that should have put the fear into Blackburn.
But Hughes' men never really gathered momentum as Rovers were too cute at the back.
So instead of landing the knock-out punch, City traded blows and went the full 12 rounds before winning this fight by a split-decision. Rovers fans must be thinking after this performance that they will be safe by February. Allardyce's cohesive unit stick to what they know best, graft and guile. On another day they would have had the points.
Stephen Ireland praised City's travelling supporters for driving the team on.
There is a sharp contrast between contempt for those in charge at Eastlands and sympathy for their magnificent, gut-wrenching support. Their passion spills on to the pitch. A couple of them let their enthusiasm get the better of them when Ireland - their home-grown idol - scored the clinching goal in injury time and got on to the pitch before being bundled away by over-eager stewards.
Certainly the way Bellamy ran his opponent ragged and ran himself into the ground before giving way to Carlos Tevez midway through the second half is testament to the commitment of Hughes' players to the cause.
Blues fans taunted 'Fergie sign him' at the sight of Argentina star Tevez in a City shirt and the neutrals could not help but smile.
Sadly though, despite the result, Hughes' post-game comments about Lescott left a sour taste. The England defender may well sign for City after all.
Yet those in charge at Eastlands must get their heads round the fact that some things cannot be bought.
Like the hearts and minds of a country that must surely hope the Arsenals, Villas and Evertons of this world, who spend within their means, get one over Sparky and his owners.